Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dispenser head for a beverage cask, in particular a beer keg, which has a valve head with a spring-loaded valve disc, comprising a housing, a connection element for fastening the housing to the valve head of the beverage cask, an inlet configured on the housing, for connecting a propellant gas line, a ram which is mounted movably in the housing and which contains a riser duct and opens the spring-loaded valve disc by pressing into the valve head, an outlet for connecting a beverage line and an actuating mechanism for actuating the ram.
Description of Related Art
Dispenser heads of this type for dispensing beverages by means of propellant gas from a cask, in particular from a keg, are known (see for example EP 0 294 095 A1).
A keg is a multiway cask made of stainless steel. On the upper side thereof, it has a centrally arranged valve, the so-called keg head. It is possible to mount thereon an appropriate dispenser head, by which the propellant gas (for example carbon dioxide) can be introduced from a separate container into the cask and the beverage which is thus under excess pressure can be conducted out of the cask to the dispensing system. To be able to quickly assemble the dispenser head, the keg head is usually provided with a flange, onto which the dispenser head, which has a suitable mount with an undercut, is laterally pushed. Arranged in the keg head is an annular valve disc which is pressed by a compression spring into the closed position of the valve. The valve disc surrounds, with a small clearance, the upper end of a riser pipe which extends to the bottom of the beverage cask, the upper end of the pipe being closed by a circular disc which protrudes radially with respect to the pipe and defines a peripheral sealing surface with respect to the valve disc. Closely below the circular disc, the riser pipe has passage openings for the throughflow of the beverage forced out of the cask by the propellant gas. So that the propellant gas which generates an excess pressure can pass into the cask, the annular valve disc is pressed into the keg head against the force of the compression spring by a ram, mounted displaceably in the dispenser head. The ram is tubular. On its lower end facing the annular valve disc, it has a widened diameter, the internal diameter of which is greater than the diameter of the circular disc which is fitted on the upper end of the riser pipe inserted into the cask. The upper end of the ram is formed as a connection for a beverage line leading to the dispensing system. The propellant gas arrives at the keg head via a connecting piece, configured on the housing of the dispenser head and via an annular chamber which is sealed at the top and is defined by the housing and the ram. To actuate the ram, a hand lever is provided which has a fork-shaped portion by which it is swivelably mounted on the housing of the dispenser head (cf. EP 0 294 095 A1 and EP 0 521 461 A2).
Furthermore, generic dispenser heads are also known which are screwed onto the keg head.
In spite of the hand lever, the force to be applied to actuate the ram of a conventional dispenser head of the type mentioned above is high. Furthermore, known dispenser heads of the aforementioned type require a complex locking of the hand lever or ram in the depressed dispensing position to prevent an undesirable resetting of the ram into its upper or retracted position by the compressed compression spring of the keg head.